"hi can i get a medium iced frappuccino with almond milk?" the young looking woman asked. "yes ma'am, can i get a name?" i asked with a smile. this was a daily for me. right after school i would come to work at hugga mug café.
3pm-10pm everyday. see, my mom died when i was 14, and my dad works his ass off trying to support me and my brothers. i have one older brother named noah, he's 18. then there's me, lorelai, i'm 17. and then my two younger brothers, logan and max, they're 8 and 3.
"lorelai, could you help close today? i'm short staffed?" my manager, jill, asked. i sighed, knowing i had a boat load of homework. "yea sure." i shrugged. "thank you so much. you're a life saver!!" i nodded, pulling out my phone. i dialed noah's number and called him.
"yo sis." he greeted on the other line. "hey noah, i have to close again." i sighed, knowing what he was gonna say. "again? are you serious lore?? you know i can't handle both logan and max. and i know for a fact you have homework to do." he yelled causing me to flinch. "i know noah, but jill is really short staffed, and we need the money!" i tried to explain.
"but you graduating is more important." he said sternly. "look, i'll stay up tonight doing my homework and take a nap tomorrow." "lore, you work tomorrow. you're never gonna catch a break. i'm worried about you." noah sighed. "ari said she would help me out with my homework, and she works tomorrow with me so i'll have help."
noah was silent at first, but then spoke up. "look, all i'm saying is i care about you and your health, remember that. don't push yourself ok?" i smiled, feeling loved by my big brother. "i know noah, see you when i get home." "drive safe, love you." "love you too" and with that i hung up.
10:45pm
"lorelai, i've been meaning to tell you something." jill came up to me as i was counting the tips. "we're running out of money." jill dropped her head in her hands, taking a deep breath.
"what do you mean we're running out of money?" i looked up at her with worry. "business hasn't been that great. basically, if we don't do anything to boost business, i'm going to have to shut this place down." hearing those words crushed me.
this job has been literally everything to me. my best friend ari's mom owns hugga mug café, and gave me a job when i was 15. after my mom died, jill kinda became the mother figure in my life, which has meant a lot to me. i'll spend all my time here, either working or doing school work. if i lose this job, i'll lose everything.
that night i came home around 12:15. my dad was asleep on the couch, and noah was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me to get home. i slowly walked inside, as to not wake anyone, and tiptoed into the kitchen.
i placed my keys on the counter and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. i walked over to the table and sat across from noah. "so i might lose my job." i broke the silence before taking a sip of my water.
"what do you mean??" noah asked, scrunching his eyebrows. "jill said the café is running out of money, and if we can't come up with a way to 'boost business', they'll have to shut it down." i explained. "you're just gonna give up?" noah raised his voice a bit. i shushed him, slapping his arm from across the table.
"all i'm saying is this doesn't sound like the lorelai i know." noah crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair. "you wouldn't give up this easily." he shook his head. "ok, well then what am i supposed to do?" i asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
"well, we gotta come up with an idea that'll increase business!" noah shrugged. "well what do you have in mind?" i raised my eyebrow, knowing he didn't have an idea in mind. "easy, open mic night."
